Hi all.

I'm currently shopping for a set of wheels/tires for my 3IS. This is my first car with TPMS so I'm a bit confused.

First, can I drive without them, even if it means a dash light on? As long as it's not flashing or beeping or it's not overriding other important signals, I'm OK with that.
My plan is to buy online and have the tires mounted and TPMS installed (probably some generic, blank TPMS). Once I receive my set, can I take it to my local tire shop or dealership and have them program the TPMS? And do I have to do this every time I switch between winter and summer wheels?
Anything else a noob should know? I don't want to regret my decisions!

Thanks!

 

I'm going through the same thing. I got my shop to order blank sensors that I'll have cloned on my winter wheels. The car will not know that my rims are off and there will no light on the dash. There will be an issue however when I rotate the wheels. I don't think there's a solution to this.

As for driving without sensors, I believe it's OK and doesn't cause any harm. I also know that more and more shops won't let u drive away it their action caused the light to come on

 

So, here in Nevada it is now law that they can not install tires without the TPMS. SO if you had two sets of wheels they would have to literally break the tire seals to get the TPMS out and put on the wheels that you having installed. In my previous cars I have purchased a new set of TPMS so that it can just be switched out. without having to break the seals. There are some that are better than others, but In my opinion its not worth the hassle if they don't really work.

 

I bought a set of sensors from Sewell and installed them on my new wheels. My local tire installer could program them for a fee. However decided to do it myself since I like switching wheels. So I bought the Ateq Quickset tpms tool. It lets you switch between two sets of wheels (e.g., summer and winter). Very easy to use and I save having to reprogram each time I switch.